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Twilight/Chapter 2
Chapter description :Squirrelflight, Ashfur, Rainwhisker and Brambleclaw are on a patrol to WindClan, to figure out if Onewhisker had received his nine lives and name. Squirrelflight finds herself having fun, as it is the first time she had left camp since ThunderClan had fought against Mudclaw. She finds coltsfoot and makes a mental note to inform Leafpool of it. After they are well away from camp, Brambleclaw stops and asks Rainwhisker and Ashfur to lead. Ashfur gives him a hard glance, probably as he does not like being order around by a younger warrior. Squirrelflight rebukes Brambleclaw about this, accusing him of treating them like apprentices, to which he responds that she may go back if she does not like taking orders from him. Squirrelflight stalks away from him to join the others. Ashfur proposes that they hunt, then asks if Brambleclaw would mind. She replies that she does not care if he approves or not. When she tries to scent the air, she is able to pick up the scent of badger. :Squirrelflight thinks she should mention that to Brambleclaw, but does not as she is angry with him and feels he will not listen. After that, Squirrelflight scents a squirrel. She manages to catch it, so she and Ashfur share it, as he missed a blackbird. Brambleclaw finds them and seems annoyed. Squirrelflight attempts to be friendly by offering him part of the squirrel. Brambleclaw curtly declines, then asks where Rainwhisker was. Ashfur answers that he had gone up ahead. Brambleclaw stalks away, provoking a hiss of annoyance from Squirrelflight. :Ashfur tells Squirrelflight to not let Brambleclaw get to her so easily. Squirrelflight says that he does not, trying to convince herself that it was true. She recalls the closeness the two shared on the journey to find Midnight, and wonders how they lost their friendship. Squirrelflight looks up at Ashfur, noting how concerned he looks. She wants to tell him that she wants to be closer to him, closer than just fellow warriors. However, despite how tempting it is to tell him, it is too soon for her to be sure that her feelings are real. She knows that she needs to get over her quarrel with Brambleclaw first. :The two warriors find Brambleclaw and Rainwhisker, both eating prey. When Brambleclaw finishes, he stalks off without a word, leaving Ashfur and Squirrelflight to glance at each other. When they reach the border with WindClan, Ashfur comments that they must have missed a patrol, since the scent markers were fresh. Squirrelflight thinks that is a good sign, because they must be well organized to patrol their borders, meaning that it is more than likely that Onewhisker had been able to travel to the Moonpool to receive his nine lives and leader's name. Brambleclaw suggests they head to the stepping stones in hopes that they can catch up to the patrol. As they reach the moorland, the ferocity of the wind annoys Squirrelflight, leaving her to ask Ashfur how WindClan puts up with the the moorland, noting that there is no tree in sight. Ashfur remarks that WindClan must wonder how ThunderClan can cope with all the trees, and Squirrelflight retorts to ask her that when it rains. :Rainwhisker notices a hunting patrol, consisting of Crowfeather, Webfoot, Weaselpaw, and Whitetail. Brambleclaw calls out to them, saying that they brought a message from Firestar. The patrol come to meet them, and Webfoot demands to know what the message is. Squirrelflight scans Webfoot, remembering that he was one of Mudclaw's fiercest supporters, and he still shows injuries from the battle. She notes that Onewhisker must decide to trust him again, if he had put him in charge of the patrol. Brambleclaw tells Webfoot that Firestar sent them to make sure that everything was okay, adding that he asked them to check if Onewhisker received his nine lives and name. :Whitetail corrects him when he mentions Onewhisker, saying that he is now Onestar. Squirrelflight's stomach lurches, knowing that calling a Clan leader by his warrior name had been a bad mistake, as if Brambleclaw did not expect him to receive his new name and lives from StarClan. Brambleclaw apologizes and corrects himself, using Onestar's proper name. He adds that it is good news, and asks them to congratulate him on behalf of ThunderClan. Webfoot asks Brambleclaw why Firestar sent him, wondering if Firestar did not believe if Onestar would get his lives and name. :Taken aback, Squirrelflight wonders if Webfoot knew that if it had not been for Firestar and ThunderClan, that Onestar would have been crow-food by now. Brambleclaw tells the gray warrior that he just wanted to be sure, and Webfoot retorts that Firestar should concentrate on ThunderClan, and let WindClan go on with their own lives. Unable to hold back, Squirrelflight blurts out that Onestar would not be leader if ThunderClan had not interfered. She is about to remind him that he and Mudclaw plotted together, but Brambleclaw silences her by flicking his tail across her mouth. :Webfoot tells her that he was not the only cat to believe that Mudclaw was the rightful leader of WindClan, but once he saw StarClan send the the fallen tree that killed the former deputy, he knew he was wrong. Squirrelflight steps back to mutter in Ashfur's ear that if Onestar trusts Webfoot, he has bees in his brain. She comments that if she was Onestar, she would watch her tail. Looking back at the patrol, she spots Crowfeather dragging a rabbit's body over the rim of the moorland, catching up to the patrol. Squirrelflight is relieved to see an old friend, knowing that despite his prickly personality, he would not be as hostile as Webfoot was. Squirrelflight congratulates him on his catch, but to Squirrelflight's surprise, he just nods curtly. Webfoot finally dismisses them, and Squirrelflight snaps at him that he should not order the ThunderClan cats around on their territory. :Brambleclaw warns Squirrelflight to leave it, and deep inside, the ginger she-cat knows he is right, no matter how hostile the WindClan cats were being. As they leave, Squirrelflight exclaims that she does not know what got into them, and Rainwhisker agrees. Brambleclaw, however, tells the two that he thought it would be obvious - that WindClan does not want to be allied with ThunderClan anymore, that everything was different. Squirrelflight is furious that they would cut off their alliance after everything ThunderClan had done for them, and tells Brambleclaw that she was a whisker away from clawing Webfoot's ears. :The dark brown tabby tells her that it was a good thing she did not, saying that there are more than one cat in ThunderClan who thinks that Firestar should not interfere in other Clan's business. Enraged, Squirrelflight demands if Firestar should have done nothing and let Mudclaw take over WindClan. She jumps towards Brambleclaw, but Ashfur pushes her back, and attempts to mediate the situation. He tells the two quarreling cats that there is no need for their argument, and that WindClan's hostility is more than likely an attempt to prove their strength, now that they have a new leader. He suggests that they give them time to calm down. Squirrelflight suspects that he is right, but she does not want to let Brambleclaw get away with insulting her father. :As Squirrelflight and Ashfur walk to camp behind Brambleclaw and Rainwhisker, Squirrelflight addresses Brambleclaw, saying that Firestar will always want to help Onestar, considering the length of their friendship. Without looking at her, Brambleclaw agrees, but says that Onestar clearly does not need his help anymore. He says that it is natural for Clans to be rivals, and that although they were right for helping WindClan, they cannot keep looking out for them. Squirrelflight insults him, but not loud enough for him to hear. She thinks about how she despises the way the Clans were drifting apart, how the closeness they had formed during The Great Journey had dwindled away to nothing. She notes that it is far too soon for hostilities to rise again, and wonders how long they can survive in their new territory if they cannot rely on each other. Rainwhisker echoes Squirrelflight's thoughts, asking what the case scenario would be if ThunderClan needed WindClan's help. :Brambleclaw leads the patrol back to camp by a different route, however, they are stopped by the ominous scent of badger. Squirrelflight scents it first, and asks Brambleclaw if he can. Brambleclaw confirms, and Squirrelflight declares that they need to do something, considering how aggressive badgers were. She catches herself mid thought, knowing that not all badgers are bloodthirsty, recalling the journey to meet Midnight, a wise old badger. She tells herself that Midnight is unique - other badgers are all battle hungry marauders. Brambleclaw concludes that, from the scent, that more than one badger had been in the territory. He tells the patrol that they cannot go back to camp without checking it out. Rainwhisker asks him if he is sure they should follow the trail, and Brambleclaw tells him that they have to find out if the badger left the territory. Taking the lead, the patrol stalks the badger. Squirrelflight notices that it is very close to ShadowClan territory, and feels concerned about Tawnypelt, knowing that if they failed to track the badger, it could easily escape their territory and cross into ShadowClan. :Squirrelflight notices a family of badgers in a fox den, and escapes back to the rest of the patrol, telling them her findings and voicing her fears that they will be traveling over the territory in a couple of seasons. Ashfur comments that it is unusual for a badger to move with cubs, and Rainwhisker suggests they may have been driven from their old home. Brambleclaw decides that there is nothing they can do unless they know how many adults there are, and orders them not to do anything until he says so. Although the cats nod, Squirrelflight seethes at how he is treating them like they are apprentices. Brambleclaw goes on, talking about how badgers only come out at night, and warns them not to go inside the hole, focusing his gaze on Squirrelflight. Squirrelflight snaps at him that she is not stupid, and Brambleclaw tells her that he did not say she was, but there were times in which she did stupid things. :Ashfur is about to leap to her defense, but Squirrelflight tells him that it is not worth it. Brambleclaw tells the patrol that if there is only one full grown badger with the cubs, they will attack. He reminds them that Hawkfrost had driven out a badger from RiverClan territory, and this could be the same one. Squirrelflight grows increasingly more annoyed with Brambleclaw at the mention of his half-brother, thinking it was bad enough that he refused to accept that Hawkfrost was untrustworthy without having him held up as a model of courage and fighting skills. :Squirrelflight points out that they might drive it into ShadowClan territory. Brambleclaw coldly retorts that ShadowClan's warriors will have to deal with it, as the patrol needs to defend their own Clan first. Ashfur asks Brambleclaw what would happen if there was more than one full grown badger, and Brambleclaw replies that they will gather as much information as they can, and then report back to Firestar. He orders the patrol to find hiding spots where they can see the mouth of the fox set. The cats see a female badger lumbering towards her cubs and feeding them beetles. Brambleclaw orders the patrol to attack, and Squirrelflight launches into battle. She finds it easy, as the female badger is too slow and clumsy. However, Squirrelflight nimbly avoids a blow that almost crushes her spine. Startled, she feels the need to retreat back to camp, but she knows she cannot give up, as they cannot allow a badger to make shelter in their territory, or no cat would be safe. After more fighting, the female badger retreats with her cubs. Ashfur yowls at them to not come back. :Brambleclaw praises the fighting skills of the patrol, and suggests they fill in the hole to keep the badger from coming back. Squirrelflight protests that they are too hungry and injured to do it now, and Brambleclaw tells her that another patrol will do it. Squirrelflight suggests they go back and collect the fresh-kill they had killed earlier, and on the way, she mutters to Ashfur that after the battle with Mudclaw and the run in with the badger, she will not have any fur left. Ashfur tells her that she fought well, and Squirrelflight returns the praise. She purrs that she thinks the badger wishes she never set foot on their territory. She pictures the huge creature retreating with her cubs behind her, and for a moment, the ginger warrior feels their fear, knowing how hard it is to be driven away from home, and having to travel far to find a new one. In her thoughts, she hopes the female badger finds a new home for her and her cubs, but far away from ThunderClan. Characters Major *Brambleclaw }} Minor *Rainwhisker *Crowfeather *Webfoot *Weaselpaw *Whitetail }} Mentioned *Leafpool *Onestar *Firestar *Midnight *Tawnypelt *Blackstar *Hawkfrost }} Notes and references nl:Schemering/Hoofdstuk 2es:Crepúsculo/Capítulo 2 Category:Twilight Category:The New Prophecy arc Category:Chapter subpages